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AUGUSTA, Georgia - Michael Jackson joined civil rights leaders, entertainers and legions of fans today for a celebration and funeral for James Brown.
Brown lay in an open-topped golden coffin at the front of the James Brown Arena, which was renamed in honour of Augusta's most famous native son in August. Brown died of congestive heart failure on Christmas Day at the age of 73.
The legendary showman, known as the "Godfather of Soul," was dressed in a black suit and gloves with a ruby red shirt. Jewels sparkled on his lapels and the tips of his shoes.
Hip-hop artists revered him and dozens have employed his beats as the backdrop to their own songs. Entertainers such as Michael Jackson, who built their careers in part on their dancing, have drawn inspiration from Brown's style.
An overwhelmingly black crowd of about 8,000 packed the arena for the public funeral and celebration following a private funeral on Friday and a viewing of his body at the Apollo Theatre in New York.
Some in the crowd at the arena had waited since 9 pm on Friday local time for the start of the public viewing of the body. Many more disappointed people crowded the outside of the arena but were unable to get in.
"James Brown in my opinion is the greatest singer of all time and I am his number one fan," said Jesse Williamson, 59, who said he first saw Brown perform in 1963.
My youth was "a humiliating time (to be black) but as time went on Martin Luther King, James Brown and others made a difference," he said, referring to the system of racial segregation in the US South and the civil rights movement.
Brown's music, with its staccato horns and guitars and his often explosive vocals, brought funk into the mainstream and has influenced pop and dance music since the 1960s.
The funeral was due to include a musical tributes and speeches.
In advance of the event, civil rights leaders Al Sharpton, a friend of Brown's, and Jesse Jackson appeared before the crowd and soaked up applause.
Activist-comedian Dick Gregory and singer MC Hammer also were on hand for the service, which opened with a rousing set of gospel music.
- REUTERS
